


thunderstorms

by MikazukiMunechika305



Category: Peacemaker Kurogane
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 23:52:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11279364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikazukiMunechika305/pseuds/MikazukiMunechika305
Summary: {Souji wakes up panting heavily, his eyes wide open in fear. It doesn’t take him long to realize that he hasn’t woken up because of a bad dream—which would indeed have been possible, since nightmares aren’t a rarity for him these days—but from the loud thunders he can hear from outside.}Souji hates thunderstorms, and Hijikata has to suffice as his distraction.





	thunderstorms

Souji wakes up panting heavily, his eyes wide open in fear. It doesn’t take him long to realize that he hasn’t woken up because of a bad dream—which would indeed have been possible, since nightmares aren’t a rarity for him these days—but from the loud thunders he can hear from outside.  
When lightning makes the room go bright for a second, he flinches.  
He’s always hated thunderstorms; back then when he still lived with his family, and he still does now. And they’re not any better at night when he’s alone in his dark room.  
The 12-year-old makes it through three more episodes of lightning and thunder, then he gets up with his lip bloody because he’s bitten down on it so hard, and leaves his room.  
Hijikata’s room is just across the hallway, it only takes him seconds to get there, but he hesitates in front of the door for a moment. “He’ll laugh at me,” he whispers to himself, but after another rumbling thunder, all hesitation is gone and he opens the door quietly.  
“Hijikata-san?” His voice is quiet, as if he’s still hesitant to wake the young man up, and he repeats his name a little louder. “Hijikata-san…”  
A half-asleep groan is the first reply he gets, then he can hear Hijikata shifting on his mattress and asking, “Souji, did anything happen?”  
“I just… no, nothing. I’ll just go back to my room—”  
Another thunder, a high-pitched squeak Souji couldn’t exactly keep to himself, and Hijikata knows what’s happening. Sighing, he sits up. “You can’t sleep because of the storm, huh? You could’ve just told me, really.”  
Souji bites his lower lip again, but stops doing so when he realizes how much his lip still hurts. “I just had some… really bad experiences with thunderstorms.”  
“I know.” The young man swings his feet off the bed. “You have two options, kid. One, you just come here quietly and go back to sleep. Two, we sneak into the kitchen without waking Kondou-san up and get you a hot chocolate because I know you can sleep better then.”  
That suggestion immediately makes Souji’s expression lighten up. “Really?”  
“Can’t have you wandering through the house during a freaking thunderstorm, right?”  
“You shouldn’t curse like this at night, Hijikata-san.” The words are accompanied by a small chuckle, and it makes Hijikata smirk.  
“Yeah? Make me stop.” He finally gets up completely, briefly stretching his arms and then firmly pulling Souji along. “Are you coming now? Because I didn’t just get up so I could watch you laugh at me.”  
“What makes you think I was laughing at you?”  
“Shut up now, I said ‘without waking Kondou-san up,’” Hijikata effectively silences the boy because they’re approaching the stairs down to Kondou’s apartment already.  
They silently enter the kitchen and switch the lights on after Souji has carefully closed the door.  
The silence isn’t broken until Hijikata has heated up the milk for Souji and the boy has put more cocoa powder into his milk than anyone would ever let him put into it normally.  
Then he sits down at the table and brightly smiles up at Hijikata. “Thank you, Hijikata-san!”  
“Don’t thank me. Kondou-san would get mad at me if I let you spend the entire night awake and in fear. There’s that important kendo tournament tomorrow, after all, so drink your chocolate and then let’s go back to bed.”  
“Yes!” Souji’s smile nearly makes Hijikata feel warmer, and the young man clicks his tongue in an attempt to ignore this feeling.

They’re lying in Hijikata’s bed together half an hour later, Souji snuggles closely against Hijikata, and the young man eventually drapes one arm around the boy’s waist.  
“Sleep now; if you’re too tired tomorrow, Kondou-san will just worry too much again.”  
From outside they can still hear the thunder and the rain, but the boy is calmer now that he can bury his face in Hijikata’s chest and imagine he was somewhere else.  
A tiny smile on his lips, Souji nods slightly. “Okay, Hijikata-san. Thanks.”  
While he’s waiting for sleep to grant him with its presence as well, it occurs to Hijikata that he has really gotten used to doing things like this in the past years. He’s always disliked children and focused on women more, but ever since they’ve taken Souji in, he feels like his life has been turned completely upside-down.  
While he has always yearned for everyone to leave him alone, especially at night, before, Souji’s warmth next to him has by now become something he almost misses when the boy doesn’t come to him.  
_Almost._  
And when he’s at the dojo, Souji is the only one who can keep up with him and be a challenging opponent, even though he’s so much smaller and physically weaker than Hijikata himself.  
These thoughts make a smirk spread in Hijikata’s lips.  
He shifts into a more comfortable position on the mattress and looks down at Souji, whispering a barely audible, “Sleep well, Souji.”


End file.
